1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shopping carts, and more particularly to shopping carts with flexible, elastically expandable side wall components, to enable the carts to expand from and contract to its original volume when overloaded by goods placed in and removed from the carts. The present invention carts include rigid frames with vertical and horizontal member to create a basket frame.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Shopping carts have been known for decades and are typically made of wire and tubular metal, plastic molded or extruded pieces or combinations thereof. They have baskets made of non-flexible, non-elastically expandable materials (plastic, metal, or combination) and basically present a rigid structure with a fixed volume. None have been provided with expandable volume capabilities based on flexible structures which expand and contract.
Laundry carts do not have nestability features as do shopping carts, but offer flexible side walls in the form of flexible canvas or plastic xe2x80x9cbagsxe2x80x9d.
The following patents were cited in the prosecution of the related application set forth above:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,276,786 describes a light-weight, easily fabricated, stackable, cart for carrying irregularly shaped bundles comprising:
(a) a rigid base member having passages formed therein to receive a handle member and an axle member;
(b) a handle member formed of a single piece of tubing and having end portions disposed within certain of said base member passages;
(c) an elongated cylindrical axle member extending through certain of said base member passages and interlocking said handle member to said base member without the use of other fastening means;
(d) a wheel rotatably positioned on each end of said axle member outboard of said base member; and
(e) a flexible bundle-retaining body secured to said base member and said handle member, said body having no rigid vertical support other than said handle member and having a spreader fixed to the top of said flexible body, said flexible body being deformable to confirm said irregularly shaped bundles and being deformable to permit stacking of a plurality of said carts, said flexible body being formed from a length of transparent flexible, large diameter tubing and being imprinted with advertising material over a least a portion of its surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,020,766 describes a collapsible basket, the combination with a pair of end frames, of extensible side frames connecting said end frames, a handle frame pivoted on one of the end frames, and connections between the handle frame and the side frames to collapse or extend said side frames as the handle frame is swung on its pivots.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,602 describes a beach carry-all cart device that is provided with a cloth bag extending upwardly from a base member which rides on a cylindrical wheel. The bag is unsupported except for a sleeve around a handle member which extends vertically to a handle grip into which a vertical slot is cut to receive cloth handles extending from the upper edge of the bag. Vertical zippers are provided along opposite side walls to expose the interior contents which typically are one or more beach chairs and other items.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,933 describes a utility cart including an open upper bin or container, with an open lower storage shelf disposed immediately below the upper bin. The is lower shelf floor also serves as a support for the cart when it is placed in a generally vertical rest position. Wheels are provided at the rearward portion of the cart, allowing the cart to be moved on the wheels with essentially the entire weight of the cart being supported by the wheels while in transport, thus precluding any substantial requirement for the user to lift any significant portion of the weight of the cart and/or its contents. The cart may be molded or cast of plastic material as a single, unitary component with the exception of the wheels. The cart is particularly adapted for laundry use, with the upper basket being used to contain clothing and the lower storage shelf being used to contain laundry supplies. However, the cart is also readily adaptable for use in performing other chores and tasks as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,769,435 describes a shopping cart that has a basket which includes a cart body which, in turn, includes a wheeled chassis and a basket supporting frame mounted to the wheel chassis. A plurality of discrete panel members, fittable to the basket supporting frame for making up the basket, include a pair of side panel members and a bottom panel member, each of the side panel members including a first wall and a second wall which are integrally made of plastic in such a manner as to have a generally L-shape in plan. The first wall makes up a part of a front wall of the basket, the second wall makes up a part of the front wall thereof, and the bottom panel member makes up a bottom wall thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,723 describes a collapsible utility cart including a frame having an upper pivotal component, a lower pivotal component and side components positioned therebetween. The frame has an extended orientation and a collapsed orientation. The frame has wheels disposed in corners thereof. An inner basket is dimensioned for securement within the frame. A locking component is provided to lock the frame in a collapsed orientation. A telescopic handle is pivotally coupled to the is frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,965 describes a modular stacking storage unit with flexible containers is disclosed. The storage unit includes a rigid outer frame comprising a base section, vertical members rising from each corner of the base section, and a plurality of front and back support members. Each storage container or receptacle has flexible material supported between the front and back support members. The front support member is lower than rear support member to increase access to the storage container when multiple modules are stacked. The container has a wider top and a narrower bottom to taper the container and further improve access to a lower container. The top end of each vertical member of each module is shaped to mate with either the bottom end of the vertical members of another container module, a top member, or a support for a clothes bar. The base section has wheels to increase the mobility of the storage unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,777 describes a combination chaise lounge and tote cart apparatus formed of a fabric covered base frame having first and second fabric covered extension frames hinged to each end of the base frame. Four foldable wheel assemblies are attached to the base frame so that the wheel assemblies can be moved from an extended position to a forward position and each of the extension frames can be folded over onto the base frame to make a compact chaise lounge and tote cart combination. The wheel assembly can be unfolded to extend the wheels and the first and second extension frames can be opened up to a generally parallel vertical position. A locking bar can be removably connected therebetween to hold the first and second extension frames upright and parallel so that items can be carried on the wheel base and can be laid across the tops of the upright first and second extension frames. A hinged handle is also provided for pulling the cart and one or two fabric sides can be connected between first and second extension frames. A fishing rod holder is connected to the base for holding fishing rods in an upright position. The combination easily converts between a chaise lounge and a tote cart and to a folded position for storage or transportation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,329 describes a collapsible shopping cart fabricated from plastic or metal. The front and rear sides of the shopping cart of the present invention would be connected to a lower frame at pivot points, allowing the sides to fold down against the lower frame as needed. Four wheels would also be attached to this lower frame. One side of the cart would be curved or rounded at its top, serving as the cart""s push handle, with a cross member support bar attached between the outer support arms. The other side of the cart would have additional horizontal support arms attached to the pivot points at the top of its outer support arms, with these horizontal support arms having incorporated hooks at their ends that would allow the horizontal supports to be secured to the cross member support bar on the opposite side of the cart, creating the cart""s upper support frame. The present invention would also come with a mesh basket having a solid bottom and attached eyelets at each corner, with this basket being secured to incorporated hooks on each side of the cart.
Notwithstanding the prior art, the present invention is neither taught nor rendered obvious thereby.
Shopping carts have been designed to perform the transport-of foodgoods and other products which may be hard or solid (non-amorphous) and need to both be protected from and protective of their contents. They must support, protect, and at least partially contain goods in a manner much more stringent than a rolling pallet, a laundry cart, or other transporter. They typically include nestability with a hinged backwall, open structure for visibility and air circulation, and require complex maneuverability. Also necessary is ease for removing goods at a checkout counter taking into account the cart size, the use, and the typical checkout counter.
The present invention is directed to shopping carts for manually transporting goods from one location to another, which uniquely provide the user with expandable capacity to receive more goods than a shopping cart of comparable size. The present invention shopping cart includes a bottom frame; a plurality of wheels connected to and located below the bottom frame; a vertical support connected to the bottom frame and extending upwardly therefrom to support a basket. The basket is located above the vertical support and connected thereto. The basket has a rigid bottom, an open top, a back, a front, and two side walls. Each of the side walls include at least one top member connected to the front and the back. The side walls, front, and back each establish corners where they connect to one another, and these corners include at least one substantially vertical rigid member. The side walls each include a flexible, elastically expandable member connected to the top member and connected elsewhere to the basket. In some embodiments, the basket front has a flexible, elastically expandable member.
The flexible, elastically expandable member of each side wall is connected to the front, the back, and the bottom of the basket and to its top member. The top member of the sidewalls may be flexible itself, but is preferably rigid. Likewise, the top members of the front and back may be flexible, but are preferably rigid.
In some embodiments, the side walls further include a rigid wall portion connected to the basket and to the flexible, elastically expandable member, e.g. half of the wall is standard rigid construction, and half is flexible, although completely flexible side walls are preferred. The flexible, elastically expandable member of the side walls, and of the front, where applicable, is a material of elastomeric material, rubber, flexible polymer or mixture, and may be sheet, strip, mesh or otherwise. The elastically expandable feature is one which must be recoverable repeatedly, i.e. repeated by resiliently expanding and contracting.